Through the Looking Glass
by suzie2b
Summary: A sequel to "The Invitation"


**Disclaimer:** _ **The Rat Patrol**_ **is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.**

 **Author's note: Brosmom gave me this idea. Nice work!**

 **Through the Looking Glass**

 **By Suzie2b**

 **Outnumbered and outgunned the Rat Patrol had once more been captured by the Germans. They were immediately blindfolded and their hands tied in front of them. When they arrived at the German's base, Troy and Moffitt were separated from Hitch and Tully.**

 **Troy paced the cell he and Moffitt were in. Neither man slept. Neither ate the food that was brought, but was grateful for the canteen of water.**

 **The next day the light in the sergeants' cell dimmed to near darkness. Across the room outside the cell a bright light came on and Troy and Moffitt could see Hitch and Tully squint and shade their eyes against the sudden brightness.**

 **Troy rushed to the bars and wrapped his hands tightly around them. "What's going on?"**

 **Moffitt joined him and said with a calm he didn't feel, "It would appear to be a transparent mirror. We can see them, but they can't see us."**

 **A few minutes later guards appeared, handcuffed the privates, and escorted them out. The light went out in their cell as it was turned up in the sergeants.**

 **##################**

 **Hitch and Tully had been sitting in near complete darkness since they'd been put in the cell. They each sat on a cot, staying mostly quiet. When they did speak, they kept their voices low and the conversation benign in case the cell was bugged. They didn't sleep and no one brought food or water.**

 **At one point Hitch asked the question they'd both been avoiding, "Where do you thing Troy and Moffitt are?"**

 **Tully shrugged. "I can't begin to guess."**

 **When the lights suddenly came on they were instantly blinded as it was reflected off a mirror on the wall outside their cell. Hitch and Tully squinted and shaded their eyes until they adjusted to the change.**

 **Several minutes later guards arrived, cuffed them, and escorted them from their cell.**

 **Six guards in total surrounded Hitch and Tully as they were marched to a room on the next floor up. There were two chairs in the middle of the room and a table against one wall.**

 **Hitch and Tully were pushed down and tied to the chairs. The guards pulled the ropes tightly around their chests, arms, and the chair backs, leaving their cuffed hands in their laps, and then tied their legs to the chair legs.**

 **Two guards stayed in the room as the others went out into the hallway. They were there for maybe twenty minutes before the door opened and a German captain strolled in. He looked from Hitch to Tully as he said, "Good afternoon, gentlemen. I am Captain Neumann." He went to the table and opened the file he found there. "Hitchcock and Pettigrew. Privates in the American army and two members of the Rat Patrol." Neither American said anything so the captain continued, "Perhaps you would like to answer a few questions."**

 **Hitch glared at the captain. "Don't count on it."**

 **One of the guards backhanded him hard enough to rock the chair back slightly. While Hitch's ears rang and a bead of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth, Captain Neumann walked over to stand in front of Tully and said, "Private Pettigrew, I would very much like to know why your unit was found almost eighty-five kilometers behind German lines."**

 **Tully looked up at the captain stoically and said, "Pettigrew, Tully. Private. 15752351."**

" **I see you both are going to be difficult." The captain gave a nod and the guard smacked Tully the same way he'd hit Hitch.**

 **##################**

 **The lighting changed again and Moffitt nudged a dozing Troy as the light came on in the mirror. The cell was still empty and the sergeants watched intently until they saw Hitch, Tully, and the guards, who removed the cuffs and locked the privates in the cell.**

 **Troy ground his teeth at the sight of the bruising both of his privates sported on their faces.**

 **Moffitt frowned. "Looks like they've been interrogated. I wonder what information the Germans are looking for."**

 **They watched the glass go dark again and the light brightened in their cell. Troy said, "They can ask all they want. Hitch and Tully won't tell 'em anything."**

 **Then Moffitt had a thought and said, "What if the Germans are using Hitch and Tully to get to us? Why show us they've been beaten unless it's going to be used against us in some way?"**

 **Troy went back to one of the cots and sat down. "Yeah, that could be what's going on. We have to find a way out of here."**

 **The sergeants didn't see Hitch and Tully again until the next day. They again watched their men handcuffed and led away.**

 **##################**

 **Hitch and Tully were again tied to the chairs. A short time later Captain Neumann walked in with a slight smile on his face as he said, "I have news, gentlemen! Colonel Schröder had a dispatch sent to Der Führer about your capture and there was an answer late this morning. It would seem that the four of you have been invited to Berlin by Adolf Hitler himself." The captain waited for a reaction, but didn't get what he'd hoped for. "Why Der Führer wishes to meet you and your sergeants is beyond my understanding … however, if that is what he wants, that is what he will have. Actually, you should feel honored by this invitation." Hitch and Tully remained silent and Neumann frowned as he said, "Now, I suppose we should continue where we left off yesterday."**

 **The questions again went unanswered and Hitch and Tully winced with each blow delivered to the other.**

 **This time when they were taken back to their cell, they were supporting each other and both of the privates were grateful when the light went out.**

 **##################**

 **Troy and Moffitt watched until the mirror went dark again. Troy growled, "We're getting out of here … today."**

 **Moffitt asked, "You've got an idea?"**

" **Working on it."**

 **When two guards showed up with their daily bread and water, the sergeants were ready. One guard stood back and kept his weapon pointed at the prisoners while the other pushed a tray with two pieces of dry dark bread and a canteen on it through the opening and waited for one of them to take it.**

 **Moffitt stepped forward, took the tray, and took two steps back. The guard pointed at one of the cots and said, "Geben Sie mir diese Kantine."**

 **Moffitt translated, "He wants that canteen."**

 **Troy stood with his hands behind his back and said, "Tell him to come and get it."**

" **Kommen Sie bekommen es selbst."**

 **The guard repeated his demand and Moffitt shook his head. The guard turned and looked at his counterpart, who said, "Gehen Sie bekommen es."**

 **Somewhat disgusted, the one at the cell door dug keys out of a pocket and drew his sidearm. He opened the door and went inside while Moffitt set the tray down on a cot. The guard snatched up the empty canteen and turned to leave.**

 **Troy moved so quickly the guard outside the cell had no real time to react. The sergeant wrapped a strip of blanket around the guard's neck and pulled it tight. As the man gagged and tried to pull the strip away, the other guard pulled the trigger of his rifle, hitting the wall behind them. Before another shot could be fired, Moffitt grabbed the pistol out of the choking guard's hand and killed the other with a single shot.**

 **When Troy released the now limp guard, he let him fall the floor, not caring if he was alive or dead. They could hear other guards, who had been alerted by the shots, coming and Moffitt quickly went to close and lock the door as he said, "This door isn't going to keep them out for long."**

 **Troy grabbed the keys from the guard he had choked and the rifle from the other. "Let's go!" Then he swung the rifle around and let it fly at the glass panel on the wall.**

 **The transparent mirror exploded. Hitch and Tully had to duck and cover their heads as shards flew everywhere. Troy moved through the hole to the cell's door with the keys and asked, "You two okay?"**

 **The privates squinted as light flooded in from the other room and Hitch nodded as he said, "We are now."**

 **The guards were pounding on the door in the other room and it crashed open as Troy opened the cell. Moffitt shot the first two Germans that showed themselves. The others backed up into the hallway for cover. He then picked up the two German machine guns to give to Hitch and Tully.**

 **Tully took one of the guns and immediately stepped through the looking glass. He opened fire, letting bullets slam through the wall on either side of the door. When Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch followed him out into the hallway, they saw the guards lying bloody and dead on the floor.**

 **Alarms began to sound as Moffitt questioned, "How do we get out?"**

 **Hitch and Tully looked at each other, then Hitch said, "Come on!"**

 **Without question Troy and Moffitt followed their men up a flight of stairs, shooting anyone that got in their way. There certainly wasn't a reason to be overly sneaky at this point. They shot their way through headquarters and out a door into an alley. The four Allies quickly hid, waiting for their pursuers to run out of the building and past them.**

 **In the daylight Troy noticed for the first time just how beat up Hitch and Tully were, but said quietly, "Well, we're out of the building. Now we just have to get off this base."**

 **Moffitt said, "Do you think we can get to the motor pool? We could borrow a staff car or truck."**

 **Tully said, "Why not just take our jeeps? That's most likely where they are."**

 **Troy looked at him curiously and asked, "We were blindfolded. How would you know they brought the jeeps?"**

" **Olive has a distinct engine sound. I'd know it anywhere and I heard it following us until just after the guard let us through the gate."**

" **Okay, let's find the motor pool."**

 **##################**

 **After about ten minutes, the alarms went silent, but the Germans were still looking for the Rat Patrol. With the sun high it was hard to keep out of sight as they searched for the motor pool.**

 **Once they located it they had to figure out how to get across the street without being seen. Hitch spotted the jeeps first and pointed them out to Tully, who nudged Troy next to him and pointed at their vehicles. They were parked side-by-side between two halftracks.**

 **Troy nodded as he thought. Then he whispered, "Tully, do you think you and Hitch can get over there and get the jeeps if Moffitt and I cause a distraction?" Both privates nodded. "Okay, get ready."**

 **Moffitt followed Troy back up the alley and around to the other side of the building. They peeked carefully around the corner at the motor pool. They could see two mechanics working, but saw no one else.**

 **Troy looked around and found a few pebbles. He threw one and it hit the side of an armored car with a** _ **plink**_ **sound. The mechanics looked at each other, then both shrugged and went back to work. Another pebble flew, this time hitting one of the mechanics in the back.**

 **The German spun around and glared at his counterpart, "Hören Sie es auf!"**

 **The other mechanic turned and looked at the other curiously. "Was?"**

 **Still frowning, the first mechanic went back to work while the second shrugged and turned back to the engine he'd been working on.**

 **After letting a small search party move out of sight, Troy pitched another rock and hit the second mechanic in the back of the head.**

 **The German spun around and asked, "Was war das dafür?"**

 **The other turned around to look at him with a frown. "Was?"**

 **The mechanic put his hand on the back of his head and said, "Schlagen Sie mich!"**

" **Ich wurde zuerst von Ihnen geschlagen!"**

" **Ich tat nicht!"**

 **There was some argument as to who hit whom before one of them threw the first punch and the fight was on.**

 **As soon as Hitch and Tully saw the first blows as the Germans went down in a tangle of arms and legs, they looked both ways before darting across the street. As they got to the jeeps, Hitch noticed an open door on one of the halftracks and glanced inside to see a bag of hand grenades. He grabbed it and tossed one of the explosives over to Tully as they both slid into the driver's seats.**

 **Hitch and Tully backed the jeeps up and stopped just long enough to toss an armed grenade into each halftrack before speeding out of the motor pool. The ensuing explosions stopped the fight and both German mechanics stared from their positions on the ground as the jeeps sped by, picked up Troy and Moffitt, and disappeared around the corner.**

 **As they followed the streets in an effort to get to the front gate, Troy and Moffitt manned the 50s. When they finally found the gate, they also found a line of men blocking it with guns at the ready.**

 **Troy yelled, "Don't slow down!"**

 **The sergeants could've easily shot every man in that line, but they chose not to, letting the jeeps act as battering rams. Those who didn't get out of the way were run down as the Rat Patrol crashed through the gate to speed off into the desert.**

 **##################**

 **Several hours later the jeeps had pulled into a waterhole. Troy got a bucket of water from the well so the privates could wash up. When they both stripped off their shirts, Troy and Moffitt could see the purple bruises caused by the ropes and handcuffs.**

 **Troy watched Hitch splash water on his face and neck. When he stepped aside so Tully could do the same, Troy asked, "How are you two holding up?"**

 **Hitch sighed as Moffitt began to clean a small cut over his left eye. "We're okay, sarge. Just sore."**

 **Tully straightened up and asked, "How'd you guys know where we were? We were blindfolded right up until they closed the cell door."**

 **Moffitt said, "As were we, but that mirror was transparent. We could see you every time you were taken out of your cell."**

 **Troy added, "And every time you were brought back. We assumed you were being interrogated."**

 **Hitch nodded. "We were. Captain Neumann wanted to know what we were doing behind enemy lines, among other things … but we didn't say anything, sarge."**

 **Troy looked at their black eyes and bruised, swollen faces. "That's obvious."**

 **Tully managed a smile that tugged at his split lip. "So you stepped through the looking glass to rescue us."**

 **Troy grinned. "Something like that." Then he glanced around and said, "I think we're safe here for now. Why don't we eat something?" He looked from Hitch to Tully as they put their shirts back on. "You two need to take in plenty of water. Moffitt and I could see you didn't have any."**

 **Hitch asked, "What about you two?"**

" **The bread was hard enough to break teeth, but the water was drinkable."**

 **Tully asked, "How're we gonna figure out where we are so we can get back to base?"**

 **Moffitt said, "I'll take care of that. It shouldn't be too difficult." He smiled. "It's akin to falling down a hole to find a white rabbit and a whole new world opens up."**

 **Troy, Hitch, and Tully groaned. Then Troy shook his head with a smile and said, "Let's get a hot meal started."**


End file.
